ERA for Rolemaster

The ERA character creation system for Rolemaster works. It is a strange system, a batch file that pops up a webpage where you can create your characters, but I give them credit for making this cross-compatible and even including a Linux launcher. I tested the Linux version, and it works.

With Windows dying on the vine, seeing more indie devs embrace Linux and character-creation tools that run natively on it is encouraging. Not a day goes by that Windows isn't trying to steal and hide my files from me, and it sucks. I hate this new world, and I can see Microsoft banning local file storage one day.

There will be a day when I walk away from Windows, and that day is coming.

You can't "go back" once your character sheet is finalized, and you get a template sheet that you can "level up" and allocate skill levels. This is how Rolemaster works: you do a lot of work in character generation, "setting up a sheet" where the costs of different choices will be predetermined, and when you level, you will be spending CP to fill out those choices as you gain them.

Unlike GURPS, where the cost for skills in different categories is the same for everyone, in Rolemaster, your class and culture determine the costs you pay for different skills. You can go outside your build, but it will just cost you more points, so your fighter can learn magic. In that sense, Rolemaster is very similar to GURPS, but character creation sets up the cost for every skill in the game based on choices made. GURPS assumes every character is a blank sheet of paper, and a medieval fighter can go on to be an astrophysicist - you just have to spend the points. 

In Rolemaster, the cost for those science skills will be prohibitively high, and that fighter will struggle since that is not "who they started as in life," but they can do it, just not as easily as someone trained from a young age to do that task. The "class system" in Rolemaster defines what is easier for you in terms of future progress, but it does not completely control it.

GURPS is more in line with modern educational thinking, where anyone can retrain for anything at any age, whereas Rolemaster emphasizes the importance of early childhood education. In my opinion, your early schooling will determine much of your life, and it only gets harder the later you go in life when you try to retrain and do something new. Rolemaster understands the basic human condition and uses class and background to model a character's "early years" quite effectively.

This is why we can't shortchange education, nor allow it to be used as a trust fund for the greedy among us to raid and live off of. If you are not creating doctors and engineers at an early age, decades down the line, everyone will suffer, including those who stole from the system for short-term gains. You steal from education today, and there goes that doctor you will need 20 years from now.

Philosophically, I am more in line with Rolemaster's view of education, the traditional method of younger minds learn easier, and setting up those neurological pathways where a young mind can be trained to think in ways that make their career and later progress in their life in the areas their minds have been well-experienced in.

Rolemaster models early education as the character's "class choices," and those are the areas you are deciding: "I want to be great at these things later." The "Role" in Rolemaster is not for role-playing; it is more for the characters' "Role" in the world and life. The "Role" you set yourself up in for the story, and the "Role" you will take in a life on the stage built by your choices.

The ERA software does a good job building your character sheet and then letting you level up your character. You can create printable sheets with this software, and that helps a lot. Rolemaster is a d100 game with many skills, but it's simple to play; creating characters is a major hurdle.

The ERA software also serves as a "training tool" for character design, walking you through the steps and explaining what happens next. It helped me get a handle on the character creation method much more easily than reading the books.

Click on a spell list, and it tells you the known spells in that list. The HTML files it creates are nice for a basic reference sheet, but the "view character sheet" function feels more complete and useful during play. I like the spell lists in the character sheet view for my casters. Like GURPS Dungeon Fantasy, Rolemaster's spell lists start off in the "magical tricks" realm, and they gradually move into the more fearsome magics. GURPS does this through prerequisites, while Rolemaster does leveled spell lists.

They have modules for RMU, RM Classic, RM FRP, and Spacemaster Privateers. Some of the games are better supported with the books than others, and each book is a separate purchase.

This is a must-have for Rolemaster players, and it walks you through character creation slowly and lets you understand each step along the way. There is even a helpful system that explains what is happening on each screen. A strong recommend for Rolemaster players, and it gives you that confidence in character creation to start imagining characters in the game, and in your worlds.

Off the Shelf: Rolemaster Unified

Rolemaster is a classic, possibly one of the greatest pen-and-paper games of all time. The original game was a "reaction game" to AD&D, written as the "X Law" rules expansions or as a complete game alternative to AD&D systems, so it existed alongside the game but also as a better system in parallel.

The unified system is a streamlined version of the game, possibly the best ever written, and it only has a few flaws - the art and a few strange monster stats. Neither flaw is a game-breaker, and that's why we are here: the art in our minds, not the books. Monster stats can be quickly adjusted by 10 points here and there, as needed. No monster should be the same as the other, and as long as you are in the ballpark, who cares? We will be getting "monster design" rules in Creature Law II, so the tools to create new beasts are coming, and the only downside for playing this game is the slower release schedule.

That said, we do have a complete game with the four books we have: Core, Creature I, Treasure, and Spell Law. Creature II and a pair of other character-focused books are in the works. We have enough for a full. stand-alone adventure game with the books we have.

So, why pull Rolemaster out of storage?

First up, just the four books are coming out of storage, and none of the previous versions. If I am looking for a "forever game" to support, I will leave the past behind and focus on what we have and the company's efforts going forward. The best way we can ensure Rolemater is played for a long time is to support the new stuff, and the new stuff is pretty good. It is solid, works well, is cleanly presented, and streamlines much of the game.

Post-house-disaster, I am focusing on the "best of the best" of my library that I will keep. I know the games I want, GURPS being the biggest, but there are a few other key games I am rebuilding around. Why is Rolemaster in this group?

So many played Middle-Earth Role-Playing in the 1990s with a variant of this system that it became imbued with Tolkien's legacy. The builds, skills, success system, crit charts, spells, and so much more became part of the legacy of "true fantasy," and the system feels like home. If you want to play serious, literate, meaningful, deadly, story-based tales of adventure and heroism, then this system should be your go-to game.

If you played MERP in the 1990s, gave up on AD&D 2nd Edition, and threw your dice in with the legacy of the Lord of the Rings, then Rolemaster feels like home. HARP is the "best close" version of MERP these days, and still a worthy game, but nothing sings like "full Rolemaster" for having it all. HARP is more Rolemaster Lite, and Rolemaster is the deeper, more hardcore, grittier game. HARP is still a worthy choice if you do not want all the depth and just want a more pulp-adventure game with a lighter level of detail.

Rolemaster is the full experience. Narratively, this game rules.

Every attack coming at your character could be their last, and also could possibly stay with them the rest of their life with a crippling injury. This is the deepest "story consequences" in roleplaying, where a sword to the gut leaves your character injured for a long time, and scarred for life. This is not the trippy fantasy land of D&D 5E, where you can sleep off a shotgun blast to the face and be fine the next day. Every blow that lands in Rolemaster is serious business.

And every blow you land has the potential to turn into pure awesome.

The d100 rolls explode, coming in or going out, so even a minor attack from a lowly goblin can end your character's story. Think before you jump into battle, and pick your fights carefully.

GURPS comes close, but it does not equal this in terms of narrative, detailed, engaging combat. GURPS is more "hex tactical meets character builder" and a few steps less narrative-focused than Rolemaster. GURPS does have the better "in character" disadvantage system with self-control rolls, but if you want detailed battles where weapons work and hit differently, Rolemaster is your game.

Every weapon blow and spell attack in Rolemaster tells a part of the story. Other games do not give me this. Rules-light games fall flat. 5E just fails to deliver engaging combat. The legacy of video games and cozy influences in modern games means character protection is a non-negotiable part of the design, and players are near-guaranteed "death never happens," and "terrible things that could trigger me" are not even considered.

My cute fox-person will never get shot in the spleen by an arrow and bleed out, then have an Orc crush their skull as they lie there incapacitated and dying. This brutal Dark Souls-like permadeath experience never happens in these new games.

Games these days have gotten too safe. They are far too cozy and soft. They are too afraid of causing mental health issues in their audience. If you are too tied to your cute, idealistic, self-insert anthropomorphic animal hero, do not play Rolemaster. Walk away. D&D 5E will be a happier place for you. Do not expose yourself to this game. You will end up upset, hurt, and angry.

Some people can't handle Rolemaster.

If you want more, play Rolemaster. Some crave this deadly, detailed, gritty, and impactful experience. They want their dice rolls to matter, and for each roll to have insane potential or tragic heartbreak. They want their sword to slice through flesh and slay in clinical, realistic, gory detail. They accept fate, in that their perfect character could fall to a thief's dagger in an alley, a poisoned blowgun from an assassin, or a lucky blow of a goblin's rusty axe. That perfect character's story could end in tragedy at any moment, and the ideal ending, or even the one that makes the most sense, could stop at any time in the most unsatisfying way.

But you will feel alive at every moment along the way.

And in the end, if you make it there, it will be far, far, far more satisfying than anything a modern game could ever imagine delivering.

Rolemaster United vs. Everything Else

I support Rolemaster United, and the team at ICE is a good company and deserves success. To be brutally honest, the art in the new books is very cartoony, and I wish we had pieces like we had in the older books. That said, I don't mind the art; I just wish we had some of the OSR artists in there, creating outstanding pieces.

RMU also feels like it is chasing the dungeon-crawling audience. The simplifications in the new version are welcome, but I am beginning to see how parts of the experience are lost in the update.

However, I understand that they need to simplify the game so they can rebuild sensibly.

I love RM FRP, and see this as the most "roleplaying" version of the game. I feel that this game drew inspiration from GURPS for a significant portion of this edition, and the add-on systems in later books felt like "us too" additions to the core. I love the training packages in this game, and they function similarly to GURPS' template packages. The skill categories are also helpful, as they help reduce the number of skills you need to train with.

At times, the game felt like it tried to follow GURPS too closely; an example is the incorporation of a flaws (disadvantage) system in Character Law. It is a great system; however, on top of everything else, the system feels like it was designed by expansion books, rather than from a solid point-to-point base, like GURPS.

Then again, it was the 1980s and 90s, lots of games innovated and copied from each other.

Most of the expansions to RM FRP went overboard in complexity, on top of an already massively complicated game. I can see why many went to GURPS to simplify the experience and work around a core mechanic and character system. GURPS is more manageable, as it does everything with a core mechanic, allows for greater character customization, and you are dealing with far fewer books.

Both games are very close. A colossal skill list, detailed combat, and a few key ability scores. One uses 3d6, while the other uses a d100 with no upper limit. GURPS offers a more robust character creation system, while Rolemaster provides more comprehensive critical charts and richer fantasy trappings.

The difference is, GURPS lets you do anything with anything. RM FRP sets up its races and professions to work together in a certain way. Where GURPS gives you everything on an equal footing, RM FRP sets up races and cultures that are better at specific skills and magics than others.

GURPS builds any world.

RM FRP creates a world rooted in established fantasy tropes.

There is a difference here; yes, you can do 'fantasy world building' in GURPS, giving elves a bonus to this or dwarves a bonus to that, but this is your choice, and not one that ships with the game. Some groups are not comfortable or skilled enough to undertake this type of world-building and prefer a set of premade assumptions.

Rolemaster requires tentpole knowledge, where you grasp a key set of concepts along the way, and know where to search for related rules later around those tentpoles. You can get tripped up in the procedure and the methods of spending development points. Some of the "way you do things" get lost in the text when they should not. Rarely will you have a character without the necessary skills.

GURPS requires a basic understanding of how a few mechanics work, allowing you to proceed smoothly from there. It is possible to completely overlook a necessary skill, such as those required to search, navigate, hike, patch wounds, interrogate someone, find clues, or spot an ambush. GURPS is a more straightforward game.

I can see why some groups say "to heck with it all" and just play Rolemaster Classic, or a modded version of this game. RMU also feels quite similar to Classic in many ways, and the new edition draws heavily from the classic set of rules, building upon them. RMC is the original game, similar to B/X in the series, and before the legendary amount of bloat was introduced with RM FRP. RMU is rebuilding RMC and selectively incorporating the best features of RM FRP; that is how it feels to me.

I am on board with RMU, but RM FRP resonates with me more than all the other versions.

Rolemaster FRP: Training Packages

Many dislike the training packages, but I love them. These were removed from the Rolemaster Unified rules to streamline character creation and development. They were not popular since they slowed down character creation, were prone to min-maxing, and added "another step" to the process that players had to sort through. Still, they provide me with numerous options and choices for a character's background, making them indispensable to the system.

This marks the first significant divergence between the Rolemaster United philosophy and the classic Rolemaster FRP philosophy that I have identified. Yes, RM FRP is bloated and takes a considerable amount of time to create characters for. And RMU does not need to be a "modern" game like 5E, and I have a simplified version of Rolemaster...

If I want simple, I have HARP.

For me, Training Packages are a significant part of the Rolemaster experience, and they provide me with more than just a skill list to purchase.

They give me a reason for my character to be the way they are.

For those who are unfamiliar, Training Packages are purchased during character creation and have a point cost associated with each profession. They are essentially a "package deal" of skills, items, contacts, bonuses, and other features unique to the training package, along with a required time in months that adds on to your character's age.

The list of training packages for the RM FRP Character Law book is provided above. There are likely others in other expansions, but this is the core 'base game+' list of choices you have. Packages have a different cost per profession; for example, if a bard chooses the performer, that costs only 16 DP. If a fighter picks the performer training package, it will cost 28.

You can get skills, items, contacts, stat-gain rolls, and a few other items with these packages, and they are not always the same, even within a package.

Each training package adds time to your character's starting age; for example, a performer is 40 months. If you picked the traveler alone, that would be 18 more months, a cost of 14 DP (for our bard), plus the list of things gained by the package.

These packages are fantastic since, instead of "paying for skills and claiming you are something," you are buying a package deal that includes items, skills, contacts, and stat gains, and writing your backstory in the world. If I choose the Diplomat training package, then for whom am I a diplomat? And who was I a diplomat to? Am I still in the role? Do I have contacts? Do I work out of an embassy? Who are my contacts back home, and in the foreign location? How do these two countries get along? Are they allies, neutral, hostile, or at war? Are you an elven diplomat working within the orc nation, and your two nations are at war?

Performer? Where? Was it bars, theaters, plays, orchestras, street performances, or other forms of entertainment venues? Do you have any popular songs, plays, books, poems, or other works of performance art that people know you by? Did you stick to one town or travel to others? Did you have a schedule, play at fairs, work at playhouses, or were a part of a band? Do you know anyone who can help you find work in different towns? Do those people sometimes ask you for help, knowing you are the adventurous sort? Do you have a stage name? Are you reviled or beloved in a few towns? Have you ever missed a performance or gone above and beyond what was expected of you? Have you performed for anyone notable, like at a prince's wedding?

You picked this package! Make it work for you! This is now part of your backstory.

I pick a sailor. What ship? Was this a merchant, scout, fishing, whaling, other, or navy? Who is my captain? Did anything happen during my voyages? Where were the ports of call we visited? Do I know others on the crew? Do I have contacts at various ports?

The Loremaster is a significant faction in the Shadow World setting. Are you a part of that? Do you have contacts there? Do they have bounties and missions for information and exploring lost sites? Are you a lore-master for another faction?

The who, what, where, when, how, and why questions are all on the table and need to be answered for every training package. Significant events can be thought up and added to the time spent in the role. Locations can be added. People, places, and things. Battles. Shipwrecks. Monster attacks. Mysteries and lost expeditions.

A few of these sing to me. Spy, diplomat, explorer, detective... mix these with the professions of the game, and perhaps a second training package, and all of a sudden, my "I am a magician" character becomes a magician, loremaster, and explorer. I have two sources of contacts and missions. My role in the world changes at the first level.

Fighter, merchant, soldier? A caravan guard. Mentalist, herbalist, con-man? Snake-oil salesman. Ranger, hunter, detective? Bounty hunter.

D&D does not give you this.

Every training package is a potential source of contacts, missions, adventures, business opportunities, information, expeditions, travel, and those asking for help.

Rolemaster FRP, The Best Version?

Sometimes, the Rolemaster FRP system was one of the most bloated games ever created; other times, it was the best-put-together version of  Rolemaster ever made. In every section, they provide the formulas, offer relevant charts, and clearly explain them on the page.

This isn't obscure. Nothing is hidden, like in the paragraphs of Rolemaster 2nd Edition. It is on a page if you need to find a rule or know what a chart and formula do. The 2nd Edition is straightforward and simple, but RM FRP is laid out like a fantasy wargame.

There may be a LOT of it, but nothing is hidden.

I first reach for the FRP books if I need clarification on a Rolemaster rule. There are times when I play 2nd Edition, and I simply default to the FRP rule because the 2nd Edition rule is either nowhere to be found or is intentionally overlooked. RM FRP will clarify it; the procedure will be straightforward, even if the math is slightly different.

Yes, characters need four pages of skills. It's insane, but GURPS has hundreds of skills as well. GURPS Dungeon Fantasy and this game share many similarities, including their shared "detailed characters and gritty combat" genre style. Rolemaster has more class direction and adjusts skill point costs depending on the chosen profession, whereas GURPS has a flat cost that remains the same for everyone.

Is there a difference between GURPS and Rolemaster?

Rolemaster features critical hit charts and a degree of role protection in skill costs per profession, enabling rapid progression in a few favored areas. GURPS features tactical hex combat, an open-ended skill system that allows you to develop your character however you want, and a detailed system for building advantages and disadvantages.

Both feature complex characters and intense combat.

If you think of RM FRP as "Advanced AD&D" that only uses a 1d100, you will be better prepared to understand it. It has less in common with GURPS than with a massively mutated, house-ruled, and extra rules-added version of AD&D that leans into Tolkien and classic fantasy novels.

Once you complete character creation, the in-game systems are more straightforward than those of D&D. It's all just 1d100. The charts are easy. Download the PDF and print out your weapon tables and critical hit charts. Every player is responsible for their own.

Best of all, the first book is all you need to play the basic game. They took the best of the best, including combat, magic, and spells, and you just need the first book to get started and support campaign play. Spells only go up to level 10, but then again, Rolemaster games rarely reach that point unless it is a hardcore group.

Rolemaster United is a bit wordy, much like the HARP expansion books, which often write essays on a subject and worry about the rules later. I appreciate the clarity and straightforward nature of RM FRP; it provides the charts and game rules, keeping the chit-chat to a minimum. I do not want a term paper or an explanation of "why this is" - I want the rules because I am in the middle of a game, and please do not waste my time.

RMU needs an editing pass by people who do not play the game and understand nothing. Every page needs a "top 10" question list written, and we must ensure those are answered before moving on. I've read the books, and I still have questions; it's tough to find answers quickly.

I like the new Rolemaster United, but it needs improvement in terms of clarity, conciseness, and artwork. It needs a "tightening up" pass, and all the formulas and charts should be pulled out and placed on the page first, with a short box explaining the rule and how it works, similar to RM FRP's 250 pages of tightly organized game rules. Writing a great rulebook is a lost art, and so far, only Shadowdark and Old School Essentials have managed to knock it out of the park.

I have high hopes for this version; I need to see the bestiaries and others. Until then, my heart is with RM SS/FRP. RM FRP is a complex system, but it is also very transparent about everything. I still have a few questions as I read through the book, but most everything is well laid out.

The Gamemaster Law book is excellent and included rules for "kingdom events" decades before other games recognized their existence. Like HARP, the RM FRP game contains numerous books and things to discover. This is a GM book written before the modern era, and it delves into many great world-building subjects and ideas. The GM book also includes race creation, perfect for building your campaign worlds with unique cultures and character backgrounds.

A hidden gem in the series is the book At Rapier's Point, which offers roleplaying in classic 17th-century Europe during the era of the Three Musketeers. The game's combat system and even HARP are ideally suited to this sort of swashbuckling game.

Whenever I pick up Rolemaster, I am conflicted. I like to support the new version and that vision. I like RP FRP and how complete and well-supported this version is. I get that "Unified" is trying to bring together fans of both versions and have one core, supported game. I also understand that the 2nd Edition is the easiest to play (once you know it) due to the lack of skills, in-depth calculations, and sub-calculations.

Rolemaster Classic will always be my AD&D of the system, the best-supported, earliest edition.

HARP has always been my B/X version; it is simple, fast, and fun. It is a complete game and a worthy D&D replacement, as the systems are simple yet offer an authentic Rolemaster experience. It features a ten-book core collection, all presented in hardcover editions. This is the game closest to Against the Darkmaster, but it's more suited for generic dungeon adventures. The "stuff collection" in this game is significantly more expansive and complete.

RM FRP is akin to my AD&D 2nd Edition, where the game offers more options and is complex, yet it still retains its charm and expanded play options. This is the "roleplaying" edition of the game, as its extensive skill coverage and numerous templates and build options allow you to play any character you can imagine. It is a comprehensive game with multiple books to purchase, so support is excellent and superior to HARP. This includes a 21-book core rulebook collection, but none of the books are in hardcover or print.

That is my wish: to see a Kickstarter campaign to collect all these books in hardcover, perhaps even premium editions with leather covers. This is also my first version of the game, which introduced me to Rolemaster, so it will remain one of my favorites.

Rolemaster United still needs to prove itself, and the game is incomplete. I support this, but I am holding off for now. Once the monster books are out, then we will see. All of these are offered in hardcover.

HARP SF is an anomaly. I have this, but I don't know what to do with it. It is sort of like B/X science fiction and exists as its own thing. You can get these in hardcovers.

Spacemaster is an SF game closely related to Rolemaster Classic. We actually played this back in the day, and it was a strange, fun, out-there experience. This is the more expansive "space opera" game style with battleships, tanks, power armor, and all sorts of tech and science fiction tropes. These are PDF-only.

Spacemaster Privateers is the RM FRP version of science fiction, and it is better suited for those who are more comfortable with RM FRP and the design concepts used in that game. I discovered this one recently, and I wish we had played it. It diverges in its own direction regarding the universe, and there is a recommendation to use Silent Death as the ship combat game for SM Privateers, which would be interesting since this would limit ship tonnage in the universe to 10,000 tons or under, with a focus on starfighters and small ships. Most are offered as PoD, with two exceptions.

We were big into Silent Death, and the rules are still available on DriveThruRPG. This would be fun to play on VTTs. It is also very playable with any Spacemaster or HARP SF games. The universe here is fascinating and varied, and many sleep on this for both a "Battle-tech style" divided universe and an interesting science fiction setting in its own right, with a faction for everyone. There are 22 books here, but they are all in PDF format.

I need to follow my heart in this regard, as I watch the new books and support them as they come out.

RM FRP is my game.

HARP is always a strong second choice.

Rolemaster FRP

The Rolemaster FRP books have always been the nicest in the series, and this game edition is the most complex. That said, this version of the game feels the best supported, the art is fantastic, the books are laid out very professionally, and the library is the largest and most complete of any of the versions.

When I had trouble understanding a concept in Rolemaster Classic, I came here and understood it better. These books feel the easiest to learn from and read, except the Arms Law book, which was fixed in the 2003 version (above), which reprinted and streamlined the tables in an easier-to-read format.

The argument is that if you are going Rolemaster, go for the best edition. I grew up with the 1990s version, which was my first introduction to the system. Many still prefer the Classic (2nd Edition), and you can get those books as softcover print-on-demand books.

The new books are excellent and filled with bug fixes and optimizations, and this version is well-supported on VTTs. However, the library is currently incomplete. I support them and keep up with the PDFs and hardcovers, but my heart is in the 1990s with the system I first knew as Rolemaster. The company supports both systems, but Unified is the path forward for the future game. At this point, it is a matter of preference and personal comfort.

Unified is also the more straightforward game, better laid out, streamlined, and organized. The art is okay, and the collection of races is strange. 90% of people will define their own custom races and worlds, so the ones they give are good examples, but most will just DIY their own race choices.

Unified is also well-play tested, with many edge-case rules thrown out. The system felt like it had been redesigned to incorporate the best of the Classic and Standard systems, with bloat and endless details cut out of the game for the best parts.

I wish the RM FRP had PoD hardcovers. The RM RFP Creatures & Monsters is the game's current "best monster book." I hope they release the two planned monster book volumes this year. I need my monster books!

HARP is also a strong game. Sometimes, I read through Rolemaster, and I give up and go right back to HARP. Even the new edition of Rolemaster has its strangely written parts and outright contradictions in the text that throw up a stop sign in the middle of an expressway, and I am left scratching my head and wishing it was all a little easier to play. HARP is that game, and it can have the same (or better) crit charts in one of the expansion books.

Parts of Rolemaster United are still horribly overwritten and obtuse. In many cases, they lack clarity in the summary and examples that clarify what is going on. The game was written by people who understand it, and just breaking into it means understanding not only what is going on now but also how it used to be done in past versions.

An example on page 32 of the new Spell Law is where two identical level 30 magicians get a new level 23 fire spell on the Fire Law spell list. When they each have an existing level 23 fire spell and are "doubling up" on spells at that level, one pays 1 DP and the other 2 DP. It isn't explained why one pays 2 DP versus 1, and the example explains what developing the 31st and 32nd ranks of Fire law would cost, which has nothing to do with what is presented in the example.

The red books RMSS/FRP simplified how many spells you learned per level, removed the "spell gain roll" mechanic of classic, and made "knowing spells at a purchased level" automatic. Universal goes back to the earlier mechanic, but only for "extra spells doubled up at a level," which is confusing since this seems to be for "player developed" spells only, and the spell lists don't double up on spells at a level.

So, we get a broken example that covers an edge case. It seems a lot more critical than it is and confuses the entire mechanic of answering the question, "How many DP does it cost to learn spells at a given level of a skill?"

The answer is zero, "The first spell on the level is free if the level is already paid for."

To be fair, United aligns with RMSS/FRP and makes sense. However, the research rules in United confuse things, especially since they are only for player-developed spells.

The game is transitory, and they needed to release the core books and books "usable with other systems" first, such as the Treasure book. We still use the older monster book. The new game is worth checking out and supporting. I have a soft spot for the red-book classics, but the future looks bright for this game, and I hope more people rediscover a true classic.

Rolemaster FRP: Skill Categories vs. Skills

One aspect of Rolemaster that I could not understand was the difference between the games' Skill Categories and Skills.

Skill Categories are broad training in groups or related skills. These are never rolled and are more like calculating a modifier for a group of skills under it. An example is the category Weapon: 1-H Edged, your character's basic proficiency in all one-handed edged weapons, from daggers to longswords. This is not your skill with these weapons since you still need to buy ranks in the individual weapons under this Skill Category, such as broadsword or dagger.

Skills are the individual skills you use. These are what you roll. You could have a Skill Category in Weapons: Missile, but you still need to buy the individual missile weapons under it and apply the category bonus to the final skill total, such as a composite bow.

Let's tear down the example in the book because there is one chart that always confuses the heck out of me:

Rank Bonus Table T-2.2! You will see I highlighted two cells on this: the level 6 Standard Category Rank Bonus and the level 6 Standard bonus. Which one do you use for what? I am confused! I often quit the game here since I kept forgetting which column was for what.

Always use the second (shaded) column for the Category sheet!

Let's start with the shaded column, the Standard Category Rank Bonus. This is only used for the Skill Category Record Sheet, T-6.2! See the highlighted green "level 6" and the "+12" bonus? That calculates our final +43 value in the red circle and applies to ALL our Weapon: 1H Edged skills that we could buy in the future. Our "category modifier" is always calculated with the shaded column for Standard Category Rank Bonuses. Okay, we got the "red circle value" that applies to every Weapon: 1H Edged skill; what now?

Always use the third (unshaded) column for the Skill sheet!

We will look at the Skill Record Sheet, T-6.3; this is our "in-play sheet" to make skill rolls! In that red circle, the "Rank Bonus of +43 " gets slotted into (red circle). Forget about the category sheet for now! Now, if we have 6 levels of a specific weapon, such as this character's broadsword, that gets a +18 (blue box). Where does that come from? This is where I panic and give up on the game.

This number comes from column three of the Rank Bonus Table T-2.2 (the unshaded one). See the blue box of +18? This is what the six ranks of a specific skill, in this case, broadsword, will add to our final skill total.

What confuses me is the "three box notation" and I get all hung up on that. There are three other skill types with special notation, but both categories and skills share that same notation type and it crosses the wires in my head. Shaded is for skill categories, unshaded is for regular skills.

Think of Rolemaster's lowest-level skills as any other game's specialty skills, and the Category Rank Bonus applies to all the specialty skills under it.

If our character tried to use another 1H-edged weapon, such as a cutlass or hand axe, but we did not have a skill level in using the weapon, we would rate it at rank zero for a -15 modifier. However, we would still get that +43 category bonus, so some familiarity would help us make attacks with a weapon we were not trained in.

Once you understand that one column of the Rank Bonus Table T-2.2 is for Skill Categories, and the next one is for the actual skills, the table becomes very easy to understand.

All the 5E players have never made it this far in the article because they saw all the math and bailed early. We loved this stuff in the old days. What else would we use the graphing calculators that our moms bought us for school? Those pieces of electronics were our toys, and we found fun ways to use them, like in our games. Hey, I did well in math, and our games helped enormously, so they were part of our education - not just our entertainment.

What else does that +43 in 1H-edged weapons tell us about our character? They grew up and were trained to fight and kill with these types of weapons to a great degree. They will be instantly deadly with any new weapons like this they pick up. D&D doesn't tell us these things. Gronk can pick up any weapon and smash or slice. The game was too simplistic. Who was this "fighter?"

This is why we played Rolemaster.

It told us who that fighter was.

And we got to play with our graphing calculators after school.

Off the Shelf: Rolemaster Core

Okay, I refuse to use the joke "chart master" again since the game is much more than this, and I feel this label has been overused and is reductive. Yes, there are a lot of charts, but that is why we love the game.

You know all the times you struggle to come up with an interesting combat result, and an attack is, "The monster loses 12 hit points, next player, please?" Not Rolemaster, every attack is unique and has a chance to reward the player (and the table) with an interesting and possibly deadly result.

Why wouldn't I want to highlight the outcome of every attack? Isn't that why we are here? A mobile game can give you an endless stream of meaningless damage numbers. I am not here to go around a table and endlessly roll d20s, damage dice, and get nothing out of it except scratch paper with an endlessly descending column of hit point totals.

We sometimes turn to our roleplaying games and say, "Give us more."

Rolemaster was that game in the 1980s, and it still is today.

Rolemaster is also a game that turns to the players and asks more of us in return.

Oddly enough, some of my most-read articles here are my Rolemaster ones, so there are still hardcore fans of the system out there. The company is remastering the books and putting out VTT modules for Roll20. The progress is slow, and we have older books to lean on in the meantime, but the work is getting done. We even have the Rolemaster Classic system in print-on-demand like it was back in the day. And the Roll20 modules are very nice to see!

Rolemaster survives.

We have three books: Core Law, Spell Law, and Treasure Law. The art in them is full-color and passable, but it is not AI-made, which is nice. I will take okay art over AI art any day. I am waiting for the two-volume Monster Law to be released, which I hope comes this year.

Otherwise, we fall back on the compatible Rolemaster Classic monster books, which work well enough. Pick up the RMC Creatures and Treasures book, and you will be fine. Monsters are not complicated, nor do they have colossal stat blocks.

The system is percentage-based, with many modifiers (but it is not hard) and skills with levels that provide bonuses as they rank up. Ability scores are split between the current value and the maximum potential, but the game is generous with tweaking, so you won't feel like you can't be your favorite profession if your rolls aren't perfect. I like this system since it gives you the current statistic value, and the character's maximum is what they work towards.

Race determines development points, culture gives free skills, and professions determine the costs of different skills. Once you understand the profession skill tables, the rest of the system will be straightforward and easy to use. With less math, this is easier than GURPS, and the tables are fun to use.

Rolemaster does things its own way, which is interesting. Gnolls are the more traditional folklore-style kin, and they are a character option. I like that they did not take the easy route and made these the D&D "hyena-men," who are getting a little tired and on their way to becoming another animal-cracker "misunderstood PC race" in modern gaming. The trend to gentrify classic folklore along Twitter values and turn everything into cosplay is a toxic development in contemporary gaming. It is the bland, nihilistic  "sameification" of everything, and suddenly, nothing is different, and nothing matters.

There are plenty of small folk in RM; this is a very Tolkien-inspired world and experience, but with a few additions and improvements. This is one of the best games for campaigns that are primarily small folk since there are so many cultures and types to choose from, and they are all unique and interesting.

The line art is from Rolemaster Classic (Monsters & Treasures book), which I love. The above are the trolls, of which the game has many types. They are classic beasts that chase small folk around as the big bad guy of an adventure. The monsters have this Old English vibe, and they aren't Americanized Versions of folklore beasts.

Rolemaster Classic and Spacemaster are viable systems, but the new RM books have VTT support in Roll20. It is nice to see this system back from the dead, and I hope for more PoD books and releases soon.

Despite its legendary skill bloat, the Rolemaster FRP edition is one of the best-presented versions in the series. Once you grasp the broader "skill categories" and the specialization-like skill ranks, you will see what they were trying to do with the math. The layout and

https://ironcrown.co.uk/rolemaster-version-comparison/

They have a version comparison above, which does not include the newest core system (25 areas, 3-6 skills per area). In short, RM Classic is like "B/X," and RM FRP is the "advanced set" - some like the 300+ skills of RM FRP, others like it simple with RMC and the 22 primary and 43 optional secondary skills.

RM FRP is deep and complicated. People were more intelligent in the 1990s and could grasp all this. The newest RM CORE is a middle ground between the 1990s RM FRP and the 1980s RM Classic.

Off the Shelf: HARP

I have a renewed interest in Rolemaster, which brings HARP into the discussion. HARP is essentially a simplified Rolemaster, built to replace the old "Middle Earth" game (now not supported and licensed). HARP is a worthy game, it gives you the Rolemaster hit without all the math and layers of complexity.

Against the Darkmaster cloned the old Middle Earth game and went its own way. This is an excellent game, and it laser-focuses on the cinematic experience of "battling the evil magic overlord" and the overall world plot. HARP is on its own as the "B/X" simplified version of Rolemaster and a solid game.

Why play HARP if you have Against the Darkmaster?

HARP is your game if you are interested in Rolemaster, like the idea of critical charts, and want an easier-to-learn, more straightforward system with a complete set of books. Also, while we wait for Rolemaster to get its full set of books, this system is fully supported and a "complete library" game with its eight-volume core set. HARP is also easier to modify to support your custom worlds since the rules are straightforward and simple, and the concepts transfer easily.

Against the Darkmaster is like playing endless Lord of the Rings movie clones. That is a great thing, and I love the concept! It takes a strong game concept and expands it with random charts and different bad guys, and all of a sudden, you are playing your own epic story.

With HARP, you are more in generic fantasy. The story will be up to you. You can make this about your own " Middle Earth" style story or do whatever you want with the game. You take a few steps back from the Middle Earth inspirations and move towards generic fantasy stories and tales. You don't need a Darkmaster or an epic arc; your stories can be as small or grand as you want.

HARP books and creators! Please check out the video & give a like and sub!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Y8ju1AXW0

HARP is a complete game that is still supported and in print. Three months ago, the video (the one I covered earlier about the 2025 releases) covered the Iron Crown convention table with Rolemaster and HARP books. HARP is being sold as the "easier" Rolemaster, where you don't need to worry about the high levels of customization and complexity. You can see in the screenshot that the table is covered with HARP books. This system is still viable, supported, and being sold (even the SF version, which will be more on that later).

HARP is a skill-based system where your levels of skills and how you choose to raise them determine character power. Your adventures will be completing tasks requiring skill use, exploration, combat, interactions, and managing resources carefully. Skills will be at the center of everything.

More importantly, the degree of success matters. Trying to convince a village there is a troll raid coming? The degree of success of your dice roll will determine if one guard with cloth armor and a spear is added to the town watch or twenty heavily armed soldiers are on the ready with leadership.

HARP also has the critical hit charts for Rolemaster in the HARP Martial Law book. They are not 100% the same as Rolemaster's charts, but they increase the variety of special effects by a considerable degree and handle them in a shade more simplicity without sacrificing variety.

The expanded HARP critical hit tables in Martial Law have similar numbers of entries as Rolemaster Unified (195 to 200 for crushing). Still, HARP puts the top chart axis as "hit location" instead of A to E severity. HARP still has the "high-end" results, but fewer of them, and a more granular progression of location-based injuries covering more low to middle-end wounding results.

With any chart result, you can always change them or improvise, so the argument of not having one or the other specific result is meaningless with a bit of imagination. An "elbow damaged" result could easily be shifted to the wrist, hand, or shoulder, so now you have four potential results inside one. An "ear cut off" result could be a nose or teeth knocked out. A "leg torn off" or "lower leg bone break" result can be interpreted in many gruesome ways.

If I use this method, a chart with 200 results quickly explodes to over 1,000 per attack type. In fact, HARP makes it easier to improvise and customize results like this because one chart axis is hit location, and the higher numbers are severity. I can go side-to-side and replace or add effects to the hit, so a severe arm hit could knock someone down (or unconscious). My over 1,000 chart results can have various similar-magnitude effects, as needed, increasing variety by another fivefold to 5,000 results.

Watch horror movies and use your imagination, and you will have more results than you will ever need. HARP could be modded into a "Terrifier meets D&D" game quickly, and by default, it can play like that. Simpler games are more straightforward to mod.

The HARP Bestiary is a fantastic book with nearly 500 pages of monsters. It is a thick tome (and in color), as seen in the video. This book is why the Rolemaster Unified Bestiary will be a two-book set. The monsters are "different" from the shopworn D&D and OSR standards, which I like. You won't know what to expect, and even human enemies are dangerous if they get a few serious critical chart results on you.

The HARP Folkways book is an excellent discussion on "races in fantasy settings" and opens the door for you to create your own worlds and those who inhabit them. There are sections describing the inspirations of HARP, which are:

• Middle Earth
• The Book of the New Sun
• The Farseer Trilogies
• Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
• A Song of Ice and Fire
• World of Warcraft

HARP developed the "race plus culture" character creation method in 2003, a generation before D&D figured it out. We stepped back from Middle Earth, but much more is now available. Imagine a HARP-ized World of Warcraft setting where orc tribes battle with brutal critical chart results in tribal combat for leadership in challenging times under Alliance assault. You can even do this without WoW and just use that as an inspiration.

But mixing Middle Earth, Game of Thrones, and World of Warcraft is a tremendous inspiration and subset of fantasy genres. This is a "peanut butter plus chocolate" blend of genres, and I could get decades of gaming out of my own world built along these themes.

Where Rolemaster does Rolemaster well, HARP is the more straightforward game that does everything else better. I can mod a simple game to be anything. With Rolemaster, I see it doing the same thing as HARP, but with a lot more work and understanding needed of the core system. Also, Rolemaster is in development, and I am waiting for the bestiary. HARP has a fantastic bestiary of monsters waiting to be used as foes.

HARP also has a science fiction game that feels like a simplified Spacemaster. This provides critical charts for modern weapons in a streamlined format, but the book does tell you to customize and elaborate on the hits so they do not get repetitive. The game gives you a hit location chart, so take a "rolled effect" plus "hit location" and invent a realistic damage effect (based on severity). The critical charts from HARP Martial Law are also usable. I would love to have new critical charts for this game but expanded like Martial Law.

The races and campaign setting are okay, but I would create my own or stick with humans only. An "Extreme" add-on book gives rules for starships and vehicles. Is it worth playing and compelling in 2025? If you like Spacemaster and the ICE systems and want something easier to run, then yes.

Also, all of the above HARP books are usable with it, especially the bestiary. Reskin all those beasts, and you have a science fiction game that is more than complete.

This game feels like "Generic 1980s Science Fiction Movie: The Game, Direct to Video Edition," which is glorious. Staying away from modern burned-out sci-fi corpo-franchises and using your imagination is good, especially nowadays. After all, many of those who did were taking "Cowboy Movie" plus "Samurai Movie" plus "Adventure Serial" and adding lasers and robots. Conversely, we have "Benevolent Navy Drama" on "Interesting Planet of the Week." Or how about "Space Monsters Meet Evil Corporations?"

It is all formula, people.

The franchise name does not matter, and your game does not have to be a sequel.

HARP is worthy, complete, in-print, and supported. Like Castles & Crusades, it was released in the early 2000s and has a pedigree and robustness few other games have. Try HARP if you bounced off Rolemaster due to complexity or want something faster and easier to play.

Being easier does not mean "lesser."

In fact, easier means the game is more open to your imagination.